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Let me give the opinion of a French atheist. That law is pure insanity, and that's not the first insanity that is done by this government. Instead of attacking religious fundamentalism and intolerance by teaching history of religions in schools (*), they attack little symbols. How much easier, isn't it. Consequence : some Muslims and some Jews will feel persecuted, there will be more private schools, (I'm totally against privatization of education BTW), and more Zacharias Moussaouis will grow in the shadow

Thanks. You at least help restore my faith in the French people, if not their government.:)

I'd question the government's role in attacking religious beliefs, though. Again, as long as no rights are violated, people should be allowed to believe whatever they want (and as long as they are willing to fact the consequences of their beliefs). For example, a Muslim may be allowed to hate Christians so long as he does not engage in violence toward them. (And so long as he is willing to accept the fact that

--J. David works really hard, has a passion for writing good software, and knows many of the world's best Perl programmers

We can't obviously mind-control everyone, forcing them not to hate their fellows:) But the main purpose of a democracy is to provide a safe place for citizens, where they can enjoy their freedom without being paralyzed by the fear of seeing their synagogue burnt (taking an example from real life.) Thus I don't think at all that a government should attack any religious belief -- religion is not the government's business. But it should make efforts to prevent, as much as possible, the spreading of fundamenta

I don't mind, in principle, the idea of forbidding head coverings, or any other thing a public school wants. The problem is that you have a system that is set up for all the people of a nation (the public school system). That is a problem in a diverse, multiethnic, multireligious, society, as it will always create conflicts like this.

Who is to say which religious freedoms are necessary to allow for, and which are not? Why should the government be making any such decisions? But if they don't, then who w

If a nation lets its communities go down the path of seperation, balkanization and isolement, it's a sign it's about to explode. Coming from a family of immigrants, having lived among immigrants, I can testify that public school is the single most important entity to help a nation to form a coherent entity, and to absorb the new blood from immigration.

If a nation lets its communities go down the path of seperation, balkanization and isolement, it's a sign it's about to explode.

The French perspective seems to be one of safeguarding the culture. Many Americans share this view as well.

I view liberty in this matter as paramount, however. Society is an aggregate of many individuals and their choices. Some may view one language as more desirable than another and may wish to force this choice on others. Allowing people to choose their language, howeve

--J. David works really hard, has a passion for writing good software, and knows many of the world's best Perl programmers